The First
by Aluralas
Summary: Adam gets a call from a friend in the Underground telling him that the first is back. He calls the team together to go after the first before Eckhart can get to them. Meanwhile, Eckhart has learned of Adam's plans. ~Chapter 7 up~
1. The Discovery

* * *

The First

The Discovery 

* * *

Adam was busy researching genetically triggered illnesses on the main computer when a call came in through the COM. "Yes?"

"Adam? It's Felicia; listen, I just got some news that I think you might want to hear. People have been talking down here and they said that they've seen 'the First'. I don't know where or how or why, but that's what they've been saying. What should I do?"

A look of disbelief crossed over Adam's face. "Are you sure? Someone actually saw the First? This is big news. Listen, do you have anyone who could call me and verify this? I need to know for sure; I have to go and find out about this but thanks for calling Felicia."

"Anytime Adam. Oh, and if you do find the First say hi, okay?"

"I'll make sure I do. Talk to you later." Adam turned off the com and sat back in his chair. The First, huh, he was hoping he'd never have to deal with this again. Now he would have to tell the team and he didn't know how they would take it. Even more disturbing was that if he knew about this then Eckhart eventually would too, hopefully later rather than sooner.

"Hey Adam, what's up?" Jesse came walking up to him with Shalimar in tow.

"Well I just heard from Felicia who said she's heard that 'the First' is in town."

"Well, who's that?"

"The very first child of Genomex."

"Really, well, where is he?"

" Actually, I think we should have Brennan and Emma here before I tell you anymore." Adam spoke into his ring, "Emma, Brennan, could you get back here as soon as possible."

"Sure Adam, what's the problem?" Brennan asked while Emma turned the Double Helix around and headed back to Sanctuary.

"Nothing, there's just something that I need to discuss with all of you."

"And you can't do it over the COM?"

"I'd feel better if you were all here. That way I can make sure that Eckhart and his goons are listening in."

Emma leaned in towards the COM, "Adam what are you being so secretive about that you can't even tell us what's going on over the COM?"

"I'm sorry Emma but you'll just have to wait until you get back here."

* * * * * 

Some time later, Emma and Brennan docked the Double Helix and when they came over to Adam, Jesse and Shalimar, they tried to make it look as if they hadn't been running all the way from the docking bay. Brennan tried to look all casual about it, but couldn't wait to ask.

"So Adam, you had something to tell us?"

"Well, apparently some people in the safe houses have seen 'The First'."

"What's that?" asked Emma.

"The First is the first child of Genomex," Jesse explained.

"Really? Well, what are they doing here? I mean, this is a dangerous place with Eckhart around putting New Mutants in stasis," Brennan stated.

"Exactly, and that's not the only thing I'm worried about; if Eckhart gets wind of this, we could be in big trouble."

Shalimar interrupted before Adam could go any further. "But Adam, why isn't the First here? I mean, I would have thought they would have been the first on the team. You treated them before any of us so logically they should be here."

"It isn't that simple, things were very complicated back then."

"And what's with all this 'First' stuff, don't they have a name?" asked Jesse.

"Yah and what kind of powers do they have?" Brennan wondered.

"Is it a boy or a girl Adam?" Emma asked.

Jesse crossed his arm, "Yah Adam, boy or girl?"

Shalimar grinned, "If they're the first then they must be the oldest out of all the New Mutants. I mean, they were born before any of us and were treated first."

"Enough, enough," Adam grinned, "I'll answer all your questions later, but before we do any of that, we need to find the First before Eckhart does. I just hope he doesn't already know about this, because if he does then we could be in a lot of trouble."

* * * * * 

Far away, on the other side of the city, two other people were discussing the first.

* * *

Author's Note:Well, I've redone this and there are some few minor changes but it still feels like I'm just writing with bare bones. I need some meat on my chapters so from now on, detail, description and longer chapters. Enjoy! 


	2. Mutiny

* * *

The First

Mutiny 

* * *

"It seems as though Adam has found another one of our precious mutants," Eckhart looked up at one of his agents, clasping his gloved hands together. "How exactly did you come to know about this?"

A tall man with cold, stabbing eyes of blue proudly answered. "We were able to persuade someone from the underground to provide us with certain bits of information pertaining to Mutant X."

"Persuaded how?" Eckhart leaned forward in his chair, smiling like a jackal.

The man smiled, showing off his pearly white teeth, "One of our agents is telepathic. She simply walked up to who we suspected as an underground mutant, used her powers and here we are talking about it."

"Why didn't you get as much information as possible out of the subject? Maybe if you had thought your plan through then you would have been intelligent enough to retrieve information on all of the underground mutants."

"Sir, the mutant we obtained information from on isn't your everyday mutant. The subject started to babble on about the First."

Eckhart leaned back in his chair with a thoughtful look on his face, "Really? Well, I suppose this might make up for your incompetence. Where exactly did they say that they had seen the first?"

"Walking on one of the main streets downtown."

Eckhart clasped his hands together, "How exactly did the subject know it was the First? Mutants look like exactly like everybody else."

"Apparently the subject had a sequential power. He could tell, in sequence when certain objects were made or people were born. It was actually quite interesting to see him give up the information."

"Had? What exactly happened to the mutant you interrogated?"

"He's dead. Unfortunately he couldn't handle the stronger power of our agent swimming around in his mind. He suffered complete brain failure right after we had retrieved our information."

"Yet again, you seem to have failed me. That mutant could have been added to our own forces or put in stasis for further study. Mr. Delano, I sincerely hope you know what you're doing because if anything like this happens again, I may have to rethink placing you as an agent."

"Mr. Eckhart, I can assure you that soon the First will belong to the GSA and at your command."

"When exactly do you plan to make this happen? You have destroyed the only link you had to the First. The only person who could identify them in a crowd." Eckhart frowned as he revealed this information to his agent. The man was a fool; he didn't think ahead and had lost valuable information that could have provided the GSA with information pertaining to Adam and his band of cronies.

"Mr. Eckhart I do have a plan, but in order for it to work, I need to see all of the files involving the First."

Eckhart sighed, "Mr. Delano you know that that information is highly classified from all personal including yourself. Only the top officials in the GSA, such as myself have access to them."

"Which is exactly why I need your approval for this operation Mr. Eckhart. If you want me to find the First then you're going to have to trust me."

"I find, Mr. Delano that trust is easily misplaced. How do I know that you are not simply trying to find information on the GSA so that you can go running to the media to spill your story? Or maybe Adam has gotten his hooks in you and he needs those files to conduct his own search for the First. No, I believe I will have to think about this before I approve your recommendation."

"Very well sir, in the meantime, I will begin my search for the First," Gavin Delano left Mr. Eckhart's office in a rage. How was he ever going to take over the GSA if he didn't get Eckhart wrapped around his finger? Gavin knew that Eckhart did not accept failure; many agents before him who had been working directly under Eckhart had either died in unusual circumstances or had been placed in stasis after disappointing him. "So he needs to trust me hmm? Well Eckhart, I will deliver the First into your open arms and then I will have you exactly where I want you."

* * *

Author's Note:Well, here's another fix but I still think it needs improvement. Thank you to anonymous, Braiden and master-john for reviewing, it means a lot to me. 


	3. Tears and Sorrow

* * *

The First

Tears and Sorrow 

* * *

Back at Sanctuary, Adam was trying to get some work done on the First but the gang kept bothering him. Finally, he had had enough of the poking and prodding of his team trying to get information out of him.

"Alright, alright. What is it that you want to know?"

"Is the first a boy or a girl?" Emma asked.

"I bet it's a girl," said Shalimar, poking Emma as they both smiled.

"No way, Adam would have picked a boy," Jesse and Brendan crossed their arms.

"Well I'm not sure that you're going to like this then but I made the First a girl," Adam looked around at the team.

Shalimar and Emma gave each other high fives as they took the money from Jesse's and Brendan's hands.

"Wait a minute, you guys bet on this?"

Shalimar grinned, "Yah Adam, I mean the gender of the First is pretty important. It means that you like girls better than guys."

"No, it doesn't mean that at all. I've always wanted a daughter so that's what I picked."

While everyone else was having a good laugh, Emma was thinking about what Adam had said and then her eyes sparked. "Hey Adam, what do you mean you made the First a girl? You treated her disease right? I mean that's what happened to the rest of us."

"No, I created the her by fertilizing an egg and sperm."

"You mean you actually took somebody's genes and messed with them, and made sure it was a girl?"

"Well, yes I did but our experiment with the first Genomex child ended very abruptly."

"But Adam, that's impossible, you can't change the genders of an embryo," Jesse looked a little concerned.

"We didn't change the embryo, we started with an egg."

"But where would you get an egg Adam?" Shalimar started to get scared by this turn of events. Adam had never said anything about using eggs and sperm for creating Genomex children. She and the rest of her group had almost been killed by life-threatening illnesses and Adam had saved them. Unfortunately one of the side affects had turned them into super humans, but she never complained about it. The one thing she had wondered about though was how Genomex was started and how the whole idea of treating sickly children got started. Now that she was finding out she wasn't so sure that she wanted to know anymore. The idea of messing with somebody's child was sickening, so why did Adam do it?

Adam sat down and put his head in his hands. Should he tell them? No one but Eckhart knew and Adam had never told anyone. The pain was still too sharp and the memories were as clear as day. But bearing this burden for so long had worn him out, would he carry his secret to the grave or should he lighten the load by passing on the secret to the others. Would they be able to handle the situation? Could he tell them everything?

He sighed in resignation. They might as well find out about it now. "We changed the outer shell of the egg so that only X chromosome sperm would be able to enter. We also altered her genes so that she could absorb others peoples strengths. She could take their intelligence or their speed, just about anything."

"So she would steal their skills?" Brendan asked.

"No, it wasn't meant to work like that. She was meant to share with people, she would absorb their talent without taking it away from them and in return she could share with other people."

Jesse frowned, "I still don't see what that has to do with creating the First from an egg."

Adam looked up at him, "What do you think happens when she does it to mutants?"

Emma responded with surprise, "You mean, she takes their powers?"

"Yes, after the egg had been fertilized we altered the embryo's genes, we altered the fifty-six chromosomes. Something went wrong though and it turned out that the embryo would only take skills, not share them. I was about to terminate the project because I couldn't see how bringing someone into the world who would only cause suffering could be good. Unfortunately before we could finish the experiment, the First escaped."

"How exactly would that happen Adam?" Shalimar was puzzled.

"We didn't really expect her to be so strong, especially when she was only an embryo. It happened a couple days before I was going to pull the plug. She transported herself to the place where she thought she would be safe."

"And where was that?"

"In a another women's uterus apparently. At least, that's as near as I can figure."

"How did she move herself from your lab to their though, I don't understand," Emma whined.

Adam hung his head, "How do you think? She stole a mutant's power. I just wish that she had never come back."

Shalimar sat down beside Adam and put her hand around his shoulder, "Why Adam, why do you wish she'd never come back?"

Adam looked up at her with tears in his eyes, "Because," he wiped his eyes, "she killed my wife."

* * *

Author's Note:Whoa, that was a big surprise, Adam has a wife? Oh well, find out next chapter! Thanks to EarthTreddingStar and Animalia for reviewing! 


	4. Explanations

* * *

The First

Explanations 

* * *

"Adam what are you talking about? You're scaring me," Shalimar looked concerned.

"My wife was part of the experiment. She did a lot of the core work involved in the preparation of the procedure. From the very start, her research and dedication helped Eckhart and I continue our idea of genetic engineering. Without her, the project would never have happened. In the beginning when we had just the egg, everything was going smoothly. We had run several tests and all had proved successful. After we had completed the experiments for the day, Sheila, my wife came up to me and told me about the problem with the embryo. I talked to Eckhart about it but he thought that even though the embryo would steal skills we should still go through with the project. Even then he was scheming and couldn't wait to continue with the research. I did what I could to correct the problem but nothing seemed to work and that's when I decided to shut down the program. I didn't tell Eckhart though; he would have argued with me and would have found some way to remove me from the project. One day three months later while Shelia was examining the embryo under an ultra-sonic microscope, trying to gain some last bits of information before we scrapped the whole idea, things went wrong."

"What went wrong?" Shalimar was beginning to look more and more concerned.

"I still don't know how it happened and I ask myself every day why I wasn't there to help her but somehow the embryo teleported. It probably didn't know what it was doing and landed in Sheila's uterus.

"Wait a minute Adam, teleportation? I thought you said the embryo would steal powers. Who did it take teleportation from?" Emma frowned.

"Yes, well, earlier I had treated Shelia for a severe case of leukemia. I used the same procedure that helped all of you and she ended up with mutant powers. She was really the first mutant. Teleportation actually, on our honeymoon she took us all the way to Colorado and we didn't even have to take a plane." He paused as his eyes misted over with these long dead memories. " Anyway, her procedure was the beginning of the real Genomex that would eventually help all of you.""Exactly what happened to Shelia?" Shalimar prompted Adam.

Adam sighed, trying to hold back the tide of emotion that was sweeping through him. It had been so long and he had buried the pain so deep that it hurt to let it rise to the surface again. "She uh, she died. After the autopsy the doctor told me that she had been pregnant. She had been about three months along and hadn't even told me. I didn't even notice though, I was at the lab so much, but she worked right beside me and I never knew. It had been a girl but she died as well. It's funny how I wanted a girl and there she was, but she was dead and the only girl left was the embryo. I figured that the embryo had entered the uterus, had noticed that Sheila was pregnant and left immediately."

"Yeah, but how the embryo know that your wife was pregnant?" Brendan raised an eyebrow.

"We created her with a higher understanding, greater brain function. It's funny though because Sheila was the one who handled the embryo the least, it would never have happened if I hadn't decided to scrap the project. I don't know how the embryo knew about the baby but immediately after it left Sheila started to go into contractions. In the end the doctor said that the stress placed upon our baby had been too much. It was barely even formed and was such a pitiful small thing. Sheila died from loss of blood. Life cheated me that day and there was so much death. I promised myself that I would never let something happen like that again. I never wanted another innocent death on my hands again. That's why I continued with my research, so that I could save all of you." Adam's voice faded off before he could finish and tears began to seep from his eyes again.

"Adam that must have been horrible for you. I'm so sorry," Shalimar hugged Adam.

"What happened to the embryo Adam?" Jesse asked.

Adam dried his eyes and sat up, "Well, we checked all of the female staff and therefore everyone knew about the mishap, but we kept it quiet. Needless to say that Eckhart was furious and told me that it was my own fault Sheila had died. I had put her at risk by not taking her off of the project and now she was dead. I think that Eckhart was more concerned about the missing embryo than about the death of my wife but then he's always been like that. His ambitions have often left him alone, without support.

Most of us suspected that the embryo had teleported into someone outside the building. Any female passing within fifty meters of the test site was a possible carrier. But by the time we had obtained surveillance tapes and done numerous thermal scans on the material, the embryo was long gone. We had hoped to find it by looking at the core temperatures of all the women in the area at the time. You see, the embryo we created produced quite a lot of heat and would raise the carrier's temperature by a few degrees. Therefore it would require a lot of energy and would have a longer gestation time."

"Is this where you and Eckhart started to have problems?" Emma asked.

"Well, it was the beginning. Over the next nine months we poured through mountains of files and papers trying to discern where our embryo had gone. Eckhart spent the entire time telling me that if I had told him about Sheila that we would already be in the third phase of testing for the embryo. He even started to sleep at the lab in order to get more work done. He told me that he would not let eighteen months of sweat and blood go down the drain just because I had messed up. I never told him that I had planned to scrap the project and I suspect that if I had he would have lost it. I spent most of the time either at the lab or moping in my apartment. Everywhere I went I was reminded of her and I couldn't get away, Eckhart insisted that we search for the embryo that we could still recover it. I don't know how he expected to do that; we couldn't just take some woman's child away because we needed to do research on it.

Then, at the estimated time of the embryo's birth, we checked every hospital within fifty miles and came up with nothing. The sponsors abandoned the project and we were told to pack up and leave. Eckhart and I decided to fund the project ourselves and so we sold our life savings and our houses. Work began immediately and Eckhart and I pushed our thoughts of doubt and worry away. We continued to disagree about everything and our partnership was becoming strained. He continued to blame me and wouldn't mention Sheila's name. Soon after that I began to believe what he said, but I continued to work even though my heart wasn't in it.

That's when I decided to take a different approach and began to work with children who had life threatening illnesses. The mutant genes would boost their immune systems and protect them from quite a few diseases that other non-mutants suffered from. The last thing on my minds was the first one that got away. Eckhart believed I had betrayed him and called me a traitor. He couldn't believe that I was giving up everything I had done to work with children. He never gave up searching and refused to speak with me from then on. Eckhart went on to found the GSA and never looked back though I suspect he never gave up looking. I don't talk about my past life because of Sheila and I hope you understand why I never explained all of this to you before."

"Adam, it's perfectly alright not to want to discuss something that was so devastating for you," Shalimar smiled.

"Yeah, and if you'd rather not talk about it it's fine with us," Jesse offered his suggestion.

"Actually I'm glad I told all of you. I've been carrying around Sheila's death for so long that it felt almost as if I was carrying her ghost around with me. She was the most amazing person I have ever met and I loved her so much. But that was another lifetime, it's history now and we're all here in the present."

"Maybe when you feel like talking again you could tell us about her. I'm sure we'd all like to get to know her better, her likes, dislikes," Emma stood up.

"Yes well, I think it's time for me to get back to work. If you'll all excuse me," Adam walked off down the corridor.

"It's nice to know that there's something under that hard exterior," Brendan smiles.

"You know, this might be why he doesn't ever open up to us about stuff. His wife's death and his child's must have been very traumatic. Since then he's locked his emotions up, never letting them surface," Emma speculated about this.

"Well it would explain some things. Come on guys, let's go see if Eckhart plotting another one of his schemes," Brendan walked off; taking the same corridor Adam had just walked down. The others followed. 

* * *

Author's Note:Whew, I totally changed the story in there. That's a lot to take in so if it's a little hard to understand let me know and I'll fix it. Thanks to Sarge for reviewing! 


	5. Revenge

* * *

The First

Revenge 

* * *

Gavin Delano was hot on the trail of the first although he didn't know it. His henchmen had been removed from his presence without his consent. Delano knew Eckhart had something to do with this; Gavin's failure had been extreme and he knew that he had been very lucky. Most of Eckhart's so-called agents ended up six feet under. Yes, there was hope for him yet.

As he walked out of Genomex he was closely watched by a figure in the shadows. He did not know the one he had to find was stalking him. The First's eyes gleamed in the darkness and were the only two points of lights one could see from the shadow. A hand waved and Gavin suddenly felt a brisk breeze blowing.

He shivered as he looked around for this sudden source of cold. He unlocked his car and jumped in, locking the door behind him. He was becoming uneasy and immediately started the engine, ripping out of the parking lot.

The First left the shadows and smiled. So Eckhart had sent his goons after her; well she could play that game, for a while a least. She was here because she felt nostalgic, what a riot. As if she really needed to come back to this hellhole, where she was born. No, that was the wrong word; she was created, manufactured. She wasn't real in the sense that two people had loved one another and had made love, created life. She was a tuber, a creation of science. This wasn't a real life, a normal life. Growing up, she had noticed immediately that she was different and so she had hid her power. She didn't meet any other mutants until she was fifteen, her parents had moved and she started at a new school. There she saw children do strange things and she thought she was exactly like them. From the shadows she would watch them shoot hoops from four feet off the ground and pull objects from thin air. When she went up to greet them though, some strange urge overcame rational thought and she would latch onto them. They would collapse to the ground, completely white and shaking while she felt amazing. With new powers coursing through her she could almost feel the throb, the hum of their source. She never made very many friends at that school and all of the new mutants were frightened of her. 

Yes, life was certainly interesting especially when you're alone in the world. She had no one to confide in, to tell secrets to and so in order to protect her sensitive side she became bitter and hardened against the troubles of humanity. She would be in control of her own destiny.

Family life hadn't been that great either, when she had chosen a host to reside in, the mother ended up pregnant, obviously. Her husband Ralf thought that his wife had slept with another man and almost beat her to death before she was born. It's a miracle that she survived. After the First was born, Ralf was even angrier, she looked nothing like him or his wife. Just whom the hell had his wife slept with? Colleen, the wife, her mother insisted that there had been no one else. But how to explain away a baby who was obviously the result of some type of relationship just couldn't be done. So throughout her life at home, the First was beaten frequently, that is until she learned of her powers. After that Ralf never touched her or her mother again. He got so frustrated over that that he brought home a shotgun one day and told Colleen that it was over. He shot her and there was nothing the First could do about it. She hadn't absorbed the power to stop bullets or to heal, so Colleen died and Ralf went to prison. The First was put into foster care and finally a couple adopted her and that was when she moved and discovered others like her.

The new parents were nice, but they were so much nicer than Ralf that she didn't entirely trust them. That all changed after she accidentally absorbed a boy's telepathic powers. She learned that her parents truly did love her and those few years she spent with them were the best years of her life. After she graduated she moved away, trying to leave behind her past but it always seemed to catch up with her. She would grab new mutants on the street, absorb their powers and then come back to reality. They would be shivering on the ground and white as a sheet, like always and she would run. She would run from that city, from that state and kept running until she found herself back here, where Adam was. Oh yes, she knew about Adam and the test tube. A little while back she'd taken the ability to look into the past and, wondering where she came from used that power and was horrified at what she saw. 

Adam and Eckhart had created her and then she had killed Adam's wife and had eventually killed the woman who gave birth to her. For the longest time she believed everything that had happened to her and the people around her was her fault. But now she knew that Eckhart and Adam were to blame. This was their fault and maybe, just maybe their mistake would be the death of them. They had of course created her and if they died by her hand, well it would be their fault as well. She could justify a few more deaths because of others that had gone before. Putting an end to this once and for all would put her at ease and she might finally be able to rest knowing that this horrible mistake would never be duplicated. The 'brilliant' minds of today would be no more. The price wasn't too high, not yet. But first, she had to deal with Gavin Delano. He was already scared and quite aware that she was somewhere in the city. Then Eckhart would fall. Adam of course would be all little more difficult, considering all of his cronies. But she had all of the power she needed to overcome every single one of them. Perhaps she would indulge herself and absorb their power right before she killed them. Mutant X was in exile and would soon be dead; she would make sure of that.


	6. Caught

* * *

The First

Caught 

* * *

Gavin was driving erratically down the highway as he nervously looked behind him. His superstitious nature was acting up again, he knew that but it had felt as if someone was watching him back in the parking lot. He had to get away, back to his house. Delano was thinking about being home right at that minute when he slowed to a stop. There was a big traffic jam ahead and he rolled down his window to see what was the matter. Leaning out his window he could barely see an overturned semi blocking off the entire highway. He hit the steering wheel and swore under his breath; with this kind of accident he would be here forever. Who was going to feed Blazer? Even now his dog would be whining at the door, waiting for him to come home.

About twenty cars behind him, the First walked towards the car that Gavin Delano was hunched in and began to walk slowly towards him. People stared at the girl from inside their cars, wondering what she was doing. Gavin had no clue that she was only a few feet away. She walked up to his door, grabbed the handle and pulled; her muscles strained as she ripped the door off of the car and threw it, not caring where it landed. She grabbed Gavin by his neck and pulled him out of the car, choking him on his seatbelt as she then slammed him up against the vehicle.

"I heard you were looking for me?" She smiled as she heard his car door smash onto the hood of someone's car and the thud that followed as it slid to the ground.

Gavin practically had a heart attack as this woman, whoever she was, choked him. He did think that it was strange she had ripped his door off but was too frightened at the moment to make the connection between her feat of strength and the strong possibility that she was a mutant.

"I don't know who you are and I certainly wasn't looking for you!"

"Oh really, you mean you haven't been searching for, the First? I'd heard that someone had come looking for me so I decided to drop by," she brought her free hand up to his face and traced a finger along his jaw line. "I had no idea that they would send someone this, handsome." He slapped her hand away and she frowned at him, pouting. "You don't want to upset me do you? You wouldn't want to make me mad, I do mean things when I get angry."

Gavin was beginning to sweat, he knew that the First was dangerous, Eckhart had warned him of that, but what was she playing at? They were in a public place surrounded by hundreds of normal people, what would she do? They'd already seen her rip the door off of his car, that in itself was strange and so Delano believed she wouldn't try anything else to call attention to herself.

Little did he know what she planned, having been through several traumatic experiences in her life, the First was not entirely stable. She didn't care about the cars that surrounded her, or what would happen if the media got hold of her story. She could wipe their minds, erasing whatever they knew about her. In the blink of an eye she could disappear and leave the questioning public behind. In her eyes, the normals - her name for the non-mutants - were below her. They hadn't experience what she'd gone through, what she'd lost. They were base creatures and she ignored them wherever she went. They were so loud, and irritating, always consuming and whining about their problems. She had every intention of causing a scene in this traffic jam; it was her doing after all. After Delano had peeled out of the parking lot she'd looked through the eyes of a crow to track him. After he'd turned onto the highway she forced the bird to fly ahead and then spotted the semi. She left the bird's mind and flooded the driver of the semi with feelings of motion sickness. As he slumped over the wheel nauseated, the truck skidded on the road to the left and clipped a pickup truck. The semi continued to spin, past the truck and then as the front tires ran off the asphalt and onto the median. All the while, cars were braking and honking in anger as this mammoth vehicle slowed their pace. The tires spun on the grass, slipping on the wet ground and then the semi began to tip over. She had to slightly nudge it but eventually the beast toppled to the ground, smashing the glass in the windows and leaving the front right tire slowly spinning in the air. She didn't stay to check and see if the driver was still alive or even conscious, she just wanted to get to the scene of the accident before Delano got fed up and left his car.

"I have been looking for you but I had no idea who you were."

"Really? Then how did you expect to find me?" She smiled as she read his thoughts; he had no idea whatsoever.

"I have my sources, they report to me on any new mutants spotted in town."

"And how do these 'sources' tell if one is a new mutant?" She relaxed her grip on his neck and let him breathe properly again. As he coughed he explained.

"My sources are telepaths, they read the minds of others."

"I know what a telepath is you fool, I am one."

Gavin mentally shrunk back; she knows what I'm thinking? When did Eckhart think this would be important? _ I suppose it was on a need to know basis._ Gavin yelled out loud.

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Get out of my head!"

"Now, now, what's the magic word?"

"Get the hell away from me," he threw a thermal burst right in the First's face and it flared around her body, encasing it in flames. Gavin unbuckled his seatbelt and ran. As his feet pounded the pavement, onlookers from other cars looked bar in terror at the girl who had been engulfed by the flames that appeared out of nowhere. If Gavin had looked back though, he would have seen the flames die out and the scarred face of the First. She cricked her neck and massaged her neck as her face repaired itself and returned to its former state. With her clothes smouldering, she took off after Gavin and spoke to him again through his mind.

_So you're a thermal that should be interesting._ As she ran after him she laughed as she hadn't laughed in years. This cat and mouse game would be fun.

~*~ 

Gavin ran on to an exit off the highway and dodged in among the many cars that were trying to leave via the exit. They honked their horns at him and yelled out their windows. What was that maniac doing on the road? Behind him, the First drew back a fist and a blur of blue light began to form around her knuckles. She pushed the hand forward, releasing the blue energy surrounding it. 

As Gavin turned around a car, a blue ball of energy came whizzing towards him, he ducked and the light struck the windshield of another car. The windshield instantly froze and fractured, sending a spider web of cracks to the very edges of the glass. Delano fumbled for his cell phone; he couldn't deal with her alone and would surely be killed if she continued to hound him. 

"Yes, Eckhart's office immediately."

Eckhart's voice answered Gavin, "What seems to be the problem Mr. Delano?"

"I've found the First Mr. Eckhart."

"Really, where is she?"

"Right behind me sir, and I think she's trying to kill me."

"Excellent, report back to me when you have attached the sub-dermal governor."

"Sir I don't think you understand, I need back up. She's too strong and I can't take her down on my own."

"Weren't you listening when I told you she was dangerous? There's no telling what kind of powers she's absorbed. Extreme measures were going to be taken to subdue her and now you're telling me that you can't deal with the situation? Tell me Mr. Delano, how exactly is it that you found her?"

"Well actually sir, she found me."

"And pray tell how she did that?"

"I don't know. One moment I was in a traffic jam and the next she had ripped my door off and asked if I had been looking for her."

"Interesting; very well then, I'll send a squad over to pick you up and deal with her. What's your location?"

"I'm on exit fifty-four off the highway."

"Very good, just don't lose her."

"I don't think there's much chance of that sir," Gavin looked behind him to check on how close she was. That's when he saw another ball of energy coming towards him. He ducked while the side of a van was hit and the door froze shut. 

"What was that Mr. Delano?"

"Oh, that? She'd throwing balls of ice at me sir, hoping to freeze me in place."

"And you're telling me that you can't deal with that? You're a thermal, that should be no trouble."

"I've already tried to fry her sir, it didn't even affect her. She should have been completely scarred but she looks just the same. Her clothes seemed to be the only thing I actually burnt."

"Fine, the squad should be there in five minutes but as soon as your business there is finished you have some explaining to do."

"Yes, sir," Gavin put the phone back in his pocket and continued to run for his life.


	7. Failed Mission

* * *

The First

Failed Mission 

* * *

Shalimar was lounging around Sanctuary when she saw Adam walking by looking anxious and disturbed.

"What's wrong Adam?"

"Apparently the First was spotted on the highway and coincidentally a semi turned over in the same area."

"Do you think she did it?"

"I don't know, there's no telling what kind of powers she's picked up since she's been gone. If she caused the accident then I don't even know if she understood what happened with the semi."

"Well you can bet if she's back here she understands everything."

Jesse noticed Shalimar and Adam talking and came over, curiosity pasted on his face.

"Hey Adam, I've been thinking about the First and I was wondering, how does anyone know she's the First? I mean, if she disappeared before she was even born how would anyone know who she was?"

Adam smiled, "That's a good question, but what Shalimar just told me makes me think that she told people who she was. She wouldn't have come back here if she didn't know about the project and me. Somehow she must have found out and I assume word got out among new mutants. Perhaps she found a new mutant and let them know, hoping it would get back to me. But how would she know who was a new mutant? She must be able to tell somehow." Adam's brow furrowed.

"It doesn't make any sense though, why would she come back here in the first place and if she did why would she want you to know she was here?" Shalimar frowned.

"I don't know, but I suspect she's back here either to talk with me or to kill me."

Suddenly the COM began to beep and Jesse ran up the stairs, "I'll get it."

"Adam, why would she want to kill you?"

"Maybe because she never had a normal life, she may have taken abilities from new mutants without even knowing it. If I was her I wouldn't have told anybody because I don't think anyone would have believed me. She probably felt very alone and somehow learned about Genomex and what she really was. I think right now she's pretty angry, no one told her about me, Eckhart or why she was different from other people."

"Adam I think you better come hear this," Jesse yelled from the main computer.

Adam and Shalimar ran up the stairs and stared at the computer. A black man was on the Vid screen.

"Adam, I've got good and bad news."

"Well let's hear it then."

"The First did overturn the semi; while Angie was stuck in traffic she felt her power. She killed the driver and then ripped the door off of a car in the traffic jam. The interesting part is that the car was a company vehicle."

"Let me guess, its GSA?"

"Yup, apparently Eckhart's new yuppie was driving. His name's Gavin Delano and he was last seen running away from his car with the First chasing after him."

"This doesn't sound good, Shalimar I want you to go get Emma and Brennan. We need to stop her from killing him, even if he is GSA."

As Shalimar ran down the stairs, Jesse swivelled around in the chair, "Adam, how do you know she'll try to kill him?"

"I don't, but I'm thinking of the worst possible situation. Besides, if Eckhart's agent gets killed then he'll want to know why. Chances are he'll find out about the First and that's exactly what we don't need right now. Can you get the Double Helix ready; I think we're going to have to get there before she draws any more attention to herself."

"Do you really think she'd expose herself to the public just to get to you?"

"I don't think she cares about the media right now, she wants to get my attention."

"If you're in that much danger from her then I don't think you should come with us Adam. She's coming after you, not the rest of us. It would be safer if you just stayed in Sanctuary and monitored things from here."

Adam looked at Jesse, "I don't know if I can do that, there's so much I want to say to her. I want to know her name and where she's been; most of all though, I want to apologize for everything. I can't imagine the pain she experienced and the horrible things she must have gone through."

Just then, Shalimar, Brennan and Emma showed up. They looked slightly distressed, apparently Shalimar had told them what she had just heard about the First and the semi.

"So Adam, do you want us to go after her?" Brendan asked.

Jesse stood up, "Actually, Adam wants to go after her with us."

"Adam you can't possibly think of doing that, Shalimar said that the First wants to get you," Emma frowned.

"Yeah, if she's gunning for you I think you should stay here. That way, if we do get her we'll bring her back here and you'll meet her anyway, if not then no harm done," Brennan smiled.

Adam looked around at the worried faces of his crew, he sighed in defeat.

"Fine, I'll stay here if it'll keep the rest of you happy. But I want you to be in contact at all times and if it starts to look bad then get out of there, alright?"

Shalimar smiled, "Don't worry Adam, if we can't defeat super chick then we'll just come back here and think up a new plan."

"Whatever you do, don't underestimate her. We have no idea what kind of powers she's absorbed so be on the defensive and stay together."

"Will do," Brennan sauntered off down to the docking bay, the others followed.

Adam sat down by the computer he put his head in his hands.

"Am I doing the right thing? Should I really be sending them to defend a GSA agent? If it's come to the point where we're defending the people who want to destroy us then I don't know what'll happen. I only hope that they come back safe, she could probably kill them if she wanted to, but no, she wants me. She'll keep them alive to get to me, to get me to come out of hiding. Well, I'm not going to wait here for that to happen. There are other ways of getting out of Sanctuary and I'm sure there are other ways of stopping her."

With that Adam went into his laboratory and pressed a panel on the wall. It depressed into the wall, revealing a secret compartment, inside was a small disk. He reached for it and picked it up, holding it so delicately. After placing it into the computer he took a deep breath. 

"Here goes nothing, I know I promised never to look at this again but I'm glad I didn't destroy it. Sheila forgive me."

He clicked on the 'Open' icon and his face was bathed in red light from the computer. 

*~* 

Meanwhile, Gavin Delano was still running for his life and running out of breath. Soon she would catch up with him, he was getting winded and she didn't seem to be tired. He could throw another fireball at her but what would that do? Last time she had just shaken it off and somehow healed herself. He didn't understand how it was possible. She had super strength; he knew that after she had ripped the door off his car. She was also telepathic so what did that mean? If only Eckhart had given him permission to look at the classified files, damn him! He might not even be in this mess right now if it wasn't for Eckhart, or at least he would know what was going on. As he looked back over his shoulder at the approaching enemy he wondered how exactly it was that she had more than one power. 

"As soon as I get back to the GSA I'm going to kill Eckhart!" Gavin ran across a busy street and into the warehouse district. Hopefully he could lose her in there.

_Fool, no one will be able to help you in there. You'll be all alone; I guess Eckhart didn't train you well enough. It's so sad that we are the same yet it's clear I am the superior one here. Run for your pitiful little life, you're no better than a normal._ She spoke to Gavin through thought, a malicious smile pasted across her face.

"Adam I think we've spotted them, well, at least I think we have. There's a trail of frozen cars coming off the exit from the highway." Emma looked at the images on the VID of the Double Helix.

"There's a warehouse district not too far from here Adam, do you think they went that way?" Jesse asked.

Adam responded after tabulating the information, "Emma, can you sense anything in the area that might indicate both of them went that way?"

"I don't know Adam, there are a lot of people around. I've never sensed the First before so I don't know what I'm looking for but she'll be the easiest out of the two to pick out if she's full of anger like you say."

Jesse looked expectantly at Emma as she closed her eyes and focused.

"Well Emma, are you getting anything?"

"Just hold on Jesse, this isn't like phasing, it's not instantaneous."

"Jesse, where are Shalimar and Brennan?" Adam beeped in on the COM.

"Oh, we dropped them off a little while back. We thought it'd be easier to track them if we split up, besides if we do find them, Shalimar and Brennan can take care of them."

Meanwhile Emma was experiencing a wave of emotions. She sifted through the emotions of the people in the area, searching for an intense rage or anger, hoping it would be the First. She came up against a wall, pulsing red with hostility. Through the wall she felt nothing, Emma struggled to get past this barrier.

_So you think you can just barge into someone's brain and look around? Tsk tsk, it's not polite to break and enter. You need to be taught some manners young lady._ Emma was suddenly hit with a psyonic blast and the last thing she heard was the First laughing and she slid into unconsciousness.

As Jesse was responding to Adam he saw Emma out of the corner of his eye. She slumped in her chair and slid onto the floor, giving no indication as to why she was now lying helpless on the ground.

"Emma!" Jesse pushed a few buttons, putting the Helix into standby. He leapt over to where Emma was lying and felt for a pulse, after he knew she was alive he sighed in relief, pulling her back up onto the chair.

"Adam, we've got problems. Emma was searching for Delano and the First and now she's unconscious."

Adam, who was still busy working in the lab, responded quickly, "What happened?"

"I don't know one minute she was fine and the next she's out cold. Do you think 'she' did it?"

"It's possible, I guess we're going to have to add that to the list of things she can do."

"What exactly did she do?"

"I'm not sure, but I think you better bring Emma in just to make sure she's alright. Oh, and on your way back pick up Shalimar and Brendan."

"Look Adam, Emma's down for the count but the rest of us are still here, we can do this!"

"I don't want to try anything without a full team. It's dangerous enough just having just the four of you go after her when we don't even know what she's capable of."

Jesse sighed in frustration, "Shal, Brennan, we're heading back. Where are you?"

Down on the street the other two members of the team were following Delano and the First's trail. Shalimar looked at Brennan with a confused face while Brennan shrugged.

"Jesse what do you mean?"

"The First did something to Emma when she was trying to find out where they were and now she's unconscious."

"Is she alright?" Shalimar's eyes widened.

"She's alive and breathing if that's what you mean. Adam doesn't think we can take the First without a full team so he wants us to come back. He also wants to check and make sure Emma really is alright."

"What!" Shalimar was furious. "We can take her, why does he think we can't do this?"

"Look, just calm down. It's not our call, Jesse we're at 5th and Oak," Brennan put his arm on Shalimar's shoulder.

"Sorry Brennan, Feral tempers aren't the easiest to deal with."

"We'll get her next time, okay?"

As Jesse picked up the other two Mutant X members they were closely monitored from afar.

"So, Adam has more little children under his wing. How wonderful for him. I wonder if they've killed as many people as I have because of Adam. Then again, they're probably teacher's pets. Oh well, one more problem taken care of. Now, to get back to business." She looked around and couldn't find Delano anywhere.

"Come out, come out where ever you are. I'm coming to find you."

* * *

Author's Note:Sorry I haven't updated in a while but I've been busy studying. I just finished mid-terms yesterday and boy am I glad they're over. Anyway, thanks to Ruffyan for reviewing. Well, poor Emma, will she be alright? Is Delano going to meet some nasty end at the hands of the First? Who knows? Stay tuned.

Oh, and for those of you who have already read the first six chapters, you should re-read them, I changed a lot in the middle about the First being born and escaping. 


End file.
